


An Outback Affair - A Reylo Emu War AU

by yegelsecaller



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Emu War, Ben is an Emu War Soldier, Crack, F/M, Reylo - Freeform, Reylo in Australia, Yes Emu War, bed sharing, i don't even know what this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-27 07:43:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21388576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yegelsecaller/pseuds/yegelsecaller
Summary: "Despite having just met her, somehow, Ben did know her. They had both spent their lives being defined by family, her by the lack of one and him by the legacy his had left. And they had both had to become who they were as a way to break free from those legacies."Folks, this crackfic is one is 100% on diasterisms. I don’t even know. Enjoy this un-beta’d mess!Oh, and in case anyone was wondering - the Emu War was an actual thing that happened in Australia in the 1930's.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 34
Kudos: 45





	An Outback Affair - A Reylo Emu War AU

**Author's Note:**

  * For [diasterisms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/diasterisms/gifts).

Lieutenant Ben Solo tapped his foot on the burnt red dirt as he waited impatiently for General Snoke to give the order to attack. The sun was already starting to set on the horizon, and if they didn’t move soon, they’d have to wait until tomorrow. The emu army had been encroaching on their territory for weeks, and it wasn’t until Lieutenant Hux had managed to lead a number of their army into the trap they had laid in the billabong that they had managed to regain some of the ground they had lost. The problem was the sheer _number _of emus. While Ben, Hux and Snoke made a small militia on their own, they carried over 10,000 rounds of ammunition between them. That combined with their experience using the Lewis guns against much greater foes _should _have been enough to take out the some 1000 emus they’d encountered so far. Strewth, they were all bloody _war veterans. _But despite their careful planning and precision of their ambushes they seemed to be encountering the _worst _luck. On the first day of their campaign, they had managed to corner a number of the birds. However, the birds had somehow managed to keep themselves _just _out of ranged of the fusillade from the Lewis guns, and they only managed to take down about a dozen of them before the rest scattered, too spread out for Ben and Hux to manage on their own.

Their ambush at the billabong hadn’t fared much better. While it had allowed them to regain some of the ground that they had lost, their guns had jammed after only a handful of the birds went down. In the days that followed, it became obvious that the emus were moving as individual units within the army as a whole. Between that and the series of malfunctions to their guns, it was almost as though some supernatural force was guiding them. Ben had _sworn _that he had seen a larger, darker bird directing the others, but even when it was in range of the guns, the bullets never seemed to connect. He knew that if he took the leader down, the rest would fall, but for the past few days, the leader had been nowhere to be found.

Ben raised his binoculars to his eyes, hoping to see the sign from Hux that it was time to attack. He peered out over the burnt landscape, dust swirling in chaotic willy-willies as the dry summer heat parched the outback. He pulled his tin water bottle from his belt, savoring the refreshment despite the metallic aftertaste. Crikey, he would be glad when this whole ordeal was over. He could already taste the cold one he’d be drinking as a reward for taking on the God-forsaken mission. He’d been ready to cut ties with Snoke and Hux when they’d all returned from the war. Some of what he’d been forced to do still left a sour taste in his mouth, but when they’d returned and been offered double pay to take on the current mission, he hadn’t been able to refuse.

As he sipped from his canteen, he squinted as he noticed a figure walking towards him. The figure was small and dressed in a grey tunic with dark brown leather pants. Her arms were also wrapped in what appeared to be old leather, and she carried a long walking stick with her. As she came closer, and out of the light of the setting sun, he was able to see her face, and he couldn’t help but start in surprise when he realized that she was _beautiful. _He drew himself up straight as she approached, taking care to point the gun away from her. “G’day there,” he said as she drew even with him. “You’re a long way from home. There’s nothing but bush out here.”

She smiled. “Not too far, actually. I’m a drover from the cattle station about 50 clicks from here. Some of the cattle wandered a bit further than they should have, and I was out here to bring them back. I don’t suppose you’d have a camp nearby? My ute broke down and I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it back to the station by nightfall.

He cleared his throat, hoping she wouldn’t notice his discomfort. Hux and Snoke had already made camp elsewhere, which would mean it would just be the two of them for the night. But despite their disagreements about the side he had taken in the emu war, his mother had raised him to be a gentleman, and he wouldn’t refuse help to a lady in distress. “Sure thing, love. I’ve only got the one swag, but I can camp out by the fire if you don’t mind sleeping in a swag that’s a bit worse for wear.” She looked up at him, her face framed by the deep red and orange of the setting sun. “If it’s not too forward, would you mind if we shared the swag? It gets awfully cold here at night, and, well…I didn’t really choose my outfit today to stay warm.” She gestured to herself, and he noticed that she was right. She would _freeze_ if she slept alone in the swag, without another person’s body heat to keep her warm. “Of course,” he replied. “No worries. I don’t suppose you have a name?”

She smiled again. “I’m Rey. Rey Droma. And you are?”

“Ben. Ben Solo.”

“Nice to meet you, Ben Solo. Shall we put some tucker on?”

Ben smiled, enjoying her directness. It had been a long day, and he could use a good meal. “Absolutely.”

***

As they sat by the fire and enjoyed some bush tucker together, Ben learned just how remarkable a woman this Rey was. She had been orphaned at a young age and had been droving ever since. She had faced hardships unlike anyone he had ever known, and he found himself leaning into her as she shared her deepest feelings with him. Her story was similar to his own in its loneliness. While he had grown up with the privilege of having a parent as a politician, he had been forced to become someone he wasn’t and had been consumed by loneliness for most of his life. Somehow, he found himself sharing this with her, and she reached out to touch his hand with her own. “You’re not alone. No one is ever alone.”

“Neither are you, Rey.”

She sighed. “I don’t think anyone truly understands me, Ben. I feel like I’m being pulled by two sides. I’ve been trying to find my place in all of this, but now I just don’t know. They all think they know me. But they don’t. No one really does.”

“But I do.” Despite having just met her, somehow, Ben _did_ know her. They had both spent their lives being defined by family, her by the lack of one and him by the legacy his had left. And they had both had to become who they were as a way to break free from those legacies. Rey yawned, trying but failing to cover her tiredness with her hand.

“I suppose we should probably get some shut-eye,” Ben murmured as she rested her head on his shoulder. She nodded in assent, and Ben gently picked her up and carried her to the swag. He tucked her in delicately and climbed in next to her. He tried to prevent himself from touching her too much, but as he started to doze off, she rolled over and wrapped her arm over his chest. He drew in a sharp breath, hoping that she would simply roll over and go back to sleep. Of _course _he had noticed the way she had looked at him, but they had only just met. Even though he had _technically _fallen into bed with her, he couldn’t just…well, fall into bed with her.

As he lay still and tried to fall asleep, he heard Rey whisper his name. “Ben, are you awake?” His breath caught in his throat as he nodded in reply.

“I’m cold.”

His entire body stiffened when he realized what she was asking. Slowly, he rolled over and enveloped her in his arms, trying not to touch her any more than he had to. But Rey was having none of it, and she wriggled until her butt was nestled snugly against his hips, sighing in response to the newfound warmth.

He felt himself hardening at the feeling of her pushed up against him, and he said a silent prayer that she wouldn’t notice. But something told him she did, as she pushed herself even closer to him. As she moved her pert bottom against his length, he swore he heard a small whimper wrench itself from her throat. Emboldened by her movement, he moved one of his hands to cup her breast and this time he was _sure _he heard a small whimper come from her lips. She started to grind herself harder against him, and he felt himself stiffening in response. He gently brushed a wisp of hair away from her neck and started to pepper her neck with kisses as she moved.

“Ben, please, “she moaned. “I need to feel you.”

“We only just met.”

“I know, but…I feel like I’ve known you my whole life.”

Realizing her knew exactly what she meant, he rolled her over so that they were facing each other in the swag. He brushed another wisp of hair from her eyes, and crashed his lips to hers, no longer caring about propriety. Her hand moved between them and suddenly she was gripping his length, slowly moving her hand up and down. He _groaned _as she moved his hand, and as the kiss deepened, he realized that he needed this just as much as she did.

As they both struggled to free themselves from their clothes without climbing out of the swag, they continued to devour each other with their mouths. Almost frantically, Rey divested herself of the last of her clothes just as Ben did, and before he could ask if she needed more time to ready herself, she was guiding his length into her. She groaned at the size of him, but as they moved together, the pleasure began to outweigh the pain, and soon both of them were panting as they moved in perfect unison.

“Rey,” he groaned as he neared his peak. “So beautiful, so perfect.”

“Ben, touch me,” she whimpered as she guided his hand to his clit. “Yes, _just like that.”_

As he circled her clit with his thumb, he felt her walls begin to clench and it was enough to send him over the edge. She followed him a few seconds later, and they held each other as waves of pleasure crashed over them.

***

As they lay with their arms around each other, the sun rising in the distance, Rey pushed herself up on one elbow and looked at Ben seriously.

“I have something to tell you.”

Ben opened his eyes, and rolled over to look at her. _Crikey, _but she was beautiful. “What is it?”

“I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

He sat up, suddenly wary. Was she a bushranger trying to rob him and leave him for dead? He tried to scramble out of the swag, but she caught his arm.

“No, Ben, I’m not trying to hurt you. Well, I was at first, but…I don’t know how to say this, but I was sent here to kill you.”

He eyed her suspiciously. “What do you mean, kill me? You’re a drover.”

“No. I’m not.” She climbed out of the swag and stood in front of him. “You’ve been trying to kill my compatriots for _days, _and since I’m the only one who can take on human form, I was sent to…dispatch you.”

Ben looked at her, confused. “What do you mean, _compatriots?_ I haven’t tried to kill _anyone _since I returned from Europe. We’ve been hunting the bloody _emus…” _He trailed off as he looked at her, and she gave him a small nod. Suddenly, the beautiful woman in front of him began to transform, her grey tunic blossoming into soft, grey-brown feathers, and her leather pants twisting into thin but strong legs. For a moment, he didn’t breathe. Was he dreaming? Was he _dead? _In a blink, she transformed back into the beautiful woman she had been been, and he continued to stare at her in silence. She stepped up to him, putting her hands on his shoulders as she did so.

“Ben, please say something.”

He exhaled. “I don’t know what to say. You lied to me. What else did you lie to me about?”

“Nothing, Ben. Everything else I told you was true. I really don’t know my place in all this, and I really have spent my life alone up until the past year. One day I woke up and found that I could transform and…that’s when I joined them. I’d never been a part of something before, and I wanted to feel like I belonged. But I don’t belong. I’m not like them, and they don’t understand me. You’re the only person I’ve ever met who truly understands the loneliness I’ve felt my whole life.”

He looked at her, trying to take it in. What _was _she?

Almost as though she could read his mind, she replied. “I’m a were-emu. There aren’t many of us, but there are enough. We’ve been trying to protect our brothers and sisters. You’ve been trying to kill them, but they’re just trying to live in peace. All any of us wants is to live in peace.”

Ben sighed. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted. Peace. But all I’ve ever done is fight.”

Rey looked up at him and whispered. “Then join us. I’ll help you. Come with me. Leave all of this behind. You can become one of us.”

“What do you mean, ‘one of us?’”

“A were-emu. We take our human form most of the time, but when we can change into our bird-form at will. It’s really no different from being human.”

He considered her. He’d been planning on leaving after this mission was over anyway. Hell, he didn’t even believe in this mission anyway. What was the difference?

“Ok. What do I have to do?”

She him as she wound her arms around his neck. “Just tell me you want this.”

“Rey, I want this. I want _you.”_

As Rey kissed him, she moved down to his neck and he felt a sharp pain as he realized she had briefly transformed back into her bird form and _pecked _him. He stumbled backwards as she looked at him with concern. “It usually takes a couple of minutes.”

Suddenly, the world around him began to spin, and he felt himself begin to transform. As the spinning began to slow, he looked up and realized that he felt _different. _Looking down, he realized that he was covered in feathers and that he felt…fast. As he looked up, he saw that Rey had transformed as well, and he could feel her smiling.

“It’s time for us to go.”

Smiling back, Ben started to run, and they loped off into the sunrise, leaving the emu war and their pasts behind them.

**Author's Note:**

> Billabong: A small pond where a river changes course
> 
> Bushranger: Highwayman/Woman
> 
> Droving/Drover – Cattle Herding/Cattle Herder
> 
> Emu: A large, flightless Australian bird; Scientific name Dromaius novaehollandiae (i.e. Rey Droma :D )
> 
> Emu War: A wildlife management military operation undertaken in Australia in 1932 to address public concern over the number of emus said to be running amok in the Campion district of Western Australia.
> 
> Willy-Willy: Mini tornado duststorm
> 
> Swag: Bedroll
> 
> Tucker: Food
> 
> Ute: Pickup Truck


End file.
